Children's Health Act Approved

- The ARC - California Edition -

Children's Health Act Approved

During the fall of this year 2000, after a long period of political maneuvering, the congress approved, and the president signed, a bill which established a series of provisions designed to improve the health and welfare of mothers, infants and children. It is called The Children’s Health Act. Within this measure there are six very important provisions that are very important to The Arc mission of Prevention.

The part of the Children’s Health Act that I consider to be the KEY provision is the creation of a National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at CDC to advance research and prevention of birth defects and developmental disabilities. This step should elevate the level of management attention given to the health of children above where it is now. This should also result in a higher priority being applied to primary preventive initiatives.

The other provisions, I will just list. Certainly each is very important, but this newsletter can only contain limited information. The Children’s Health Act contains provisions which:

	Authorizes a newborn screening initiative, an important step in giving states the resources they need to improve and expand newborn screening.
	Authorizes the CDC to conduct a comprehensive national education campaign to raise awareness of folic acid. Folic acid can prevent up to 70% of serious birth defects of the brain and spine known as neural tube defects.
	Intensifies and expands autism research and surveillance activities.
	Expands the Pediatric Research Initiative at the National Institutes of Health.
	Initiates a Safe Motherhood Monitoring and Infant Health Promotion program to reduce the incidence of maternal complication and mortality associated with pregnancy.

— Peter Leibert, editor

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